A "Hyena" Paid To Sexually Cleanse Children

JUST when you think these stories about strange and outrageous tradition would end, another one, more bizarre than the previous, crops up. In Malawi, a country in Africa, a few men, named “Hyenas” are paid to have sex with girls as young as 12-13 in order to sexually cleanse them once they reach puberty.

This bizarre ritual puts all the girls at risk of diseases like AIDS, and especially since 1 out of 10 in Malawi is HIV positive. Indeed, as per BBC reports, one such Hyena, Eric Aniwa, says, "Most of those I have slept with are girls, school-going girls. Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older. All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud and tell other people that this man is a real man, he knows how to please a woman."

The report quotes Dr May Shaba, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Gender and Welfare as: "We are not going to condemn these people, but we are going to give them information that they need to change their rituals."

Hopefully, the media coverage will draw attention of others towards this area, where the people are amongst the poorest in the world and desperately in need of aid and development.